Dying Gateshead woman's letters urge family to probe cancer delay

A woman wrote letters to her family while in hospital with terminal cancer asking them to investigate a seven-month delay in her diagnosis.

Sheila Brown, from Gateshead, died in 2016 after her ovarian cancer spread.

"It's too late for me but things like this should not happen and it must be investigated," the 57-year-old wrote to her loved ones.

A GP has admitted a breach of duty in that she should have been referred to a specialist and for a scan.

The family's legal team at Irwin Mitchell said the unnamed doctor also provided inappropriate reassurance regarding her back pain, which they admitted through their lawyers.

Her family, who have received an undisclosed pay-out, have released excerpts of her hand-written letters which asked them to find out what went wrong regarding her care, in the hope it could help others.

The Newcastle United fan wrote "the tears are flowing" not just for herself but for some of her nephews and nieces, with whom she shared a close bond.

"It is with great sadness that I write this but I need to get what has happened to me written down before I become too ill," she wrote.

"Swift diagnosis and access to treatment are absolutely vital as we all know the more advanced the cancer is the harder it is to treat."

Ms Brown, who had breast cancer in 1998, attended a number of GP appointments between January 2015 and January 2016 complaining of back pain, her family's legal team said.

Blood tests indicated reduced kidney function and raised inflammatory markers.

She raised concerns that her cancer may have returned but was reassured there was no indication that it had.

In January 2016 she was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis, and following scans and tests she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer which had spread to her lungs. She died in the September.

The GP's legal team accepted that a referral should have been made in August 2015.

If it had been, Ms Brown would have been diagnosed earlier, had surgery and radiotherapy and would have a life expectancy of five years, her family's solicitor said.

Speaking on behalf of the family, her brother Billy called his sister "an amazing person" and a "genuine, kind soul".

"Sheila taught us to be grateful and not take anything for granted. Life lessons that remain with us."

"Sheila knew she wouldn't be here to be told the answers regrading what happened to her but she was determined her care should be investigated.

"She wanted answers knowing full well they couldn't save her but they could stop another person and family going through the hell we have all been through."

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